1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to insensitive high performance explosive compositions. More specifically, the present invention relates to the use of 4,10-dinitro-2,6,8,12-tetraoxa-4,10-diazatetracyclo[5.5.0.0.sup.5,9 0.sup.3,11 ]dodecane as an explosive ingredient in compositions useful in high performance, low sensitivity explosive applications.
2. Technology Background
It is a continuing objective in the design and production of explosives to provide explosives which are highly energetic when intentionally initiated, but in which the risk of unintentional detonation is minimized. It is preferable that the mass and confinement effects of the explosive case be negligible on the probability of initiation or the transition from burning to detonation in either transport or storage. It is also preferred that if such explosive is unintentionally initiated it will be incapable of propagating to another explosive. Such explosives are termed insensitive high-explosives (IHE). Standards for IHE are discussed, for example, at pages 3-5 to 3-12 of the July 1984 DoD 6055.9-STD "Ammunition and Explosive Safety Standards" and in draft DoD-STD-2105A of Oct. 18, 1988 "Military Standard Hazard Assessment Tests For Non-Nuclear Ordnance".
Conventional IHE compositions have comprised a curable elastomeric binder in which particles of high-energy material, particularly explosive particles, oxidizers, and reactive metals, are dispersed throughout the binder. The elastomeric binder has generally been a cured elastomer, such as hydroxy-terminated polybutadienes, polypropylene glycols and the like. More recently, efforts have been made to use thermoplastic resin binders to produce insensitive high-explosives.
3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one, known in the industry as nitrotriazolone or "NTO" is a currently preferred insensitive explosive ingredient. Although explosive formulations based on NTO are less sensitive than those based on the widely used high performance explosives RDX and HMX, their poor explosive performance, compared to RDX and HMX formulations, limit the usefulness of NTO. Nitroguanidine (NQ) is another insensitive explosive ingredient commonly used in the industry, but NQ, like NTO lacks the explosive performance of conventional high performance explosives.
It would, therefore, be a substantial advancement in the art to provide a high performance explosive which was also insensitive during storage and transportation. It would be a further advancement in the art to provide an explosive ingredient useful in compositions which are high in performance, low in sensitivity and which may be used in a wide variety of explosive formulations.
Such insensitive high performance explosive compositions are disclosed and claimed herein.